Mazmur 11:3

11:3 When the foundations ¹  are destroyed,

what can the godly ²  accomplish?” ³ 

Mazmur 33:4

33:4 For ⁴  the Lord’s decrees ⁵  are just, ⁶ 

and everything he does is fair. ⁷ 

Mazmur 55:4-5

55:4 My heart beats violently ⁸  within me;

the horrors of death overcome me. ⁹ 

55:5 Fear and panic overpower me; ¹⁰ 

terror overwhelms ¹¹  me.

Mazmur 94:2

94:2 Rise up, O judge of the earth!

Pay back the proud!

Mazmur 103:6

103:6 The Lord does what is fair,

and executes justice for all the oppressed. ¹² 

Mazmur 104:23

104:23 Men then go out to do their work,

and labor away until evening. ¹³ 

Mazmur 106:3

106:3 How blessed are those who promote justice,

and do what is right all the time!

Mazmur 109:23

109:23 I am fading away like a shadow at the end of the day; ¹⁴ 

I am shaken off like a locust.

Mazmur 111:8

111:8 They are forever firm,

and should be faithfully and properly carried out. ¹⁵ 

Mazmur 119:1

Psalm 119 ¹⁶ 

א (Alef)

119:1 How blessed are those whose actions are blameless, ¹⁷ 

who obey ¹⁸  the law of the Lord.

Mazmur 119:4

119:4 You demand that your precepts

be carefully kept. ¹⁹ 

Mazmur 119:22

119:22 Spare me ²⁰  shame and humiliation,

for I observe your rules.

Mazmur 119:47

119:47 I will find delight in your commands,

which I love.

Mazmur 119:68

119:68 You are good and you do good.

Teach me your statutes!

Mazmur 119:143

119:143 Distress and hardship confront ²¹  me,

yet I find delight in your commands.

Mazmur 120:3

120:3 How will he severely punish you,

you deceptive talker? ²² 

[11:3]  ¹ tn The precise meaning of this rare word is uncertain. An Ugaritic cognate is used of the “bottom” or “base” of a cliff or mountain (see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 47, 159). The noun appears in postbiblical Hebrew with the meaning “foundation” (see Jastrow 1636 s.v. שָׁת).

[11:3]  ² tn The singular form is used here in a collective or representative sense. Note the plural form “pure [of heart]” in the previous verse.

[11:3]  ³ sn The quotation of the advisers’ words (which begins in 11:1c) ends at this point. They advise the psalmist to flee because the enemy is poised to launch a deadly attack. In such a lawless and chaotic situation godly people like the psalmist can accomplish nothing, so they might as well retreat to a safe place.

[33:4]  ⁴ sn For the Lord’s decrees are just… After the call to praise (vv. 1-3), the psalmist now gives a series of reasons why the Lord is worthy of praise.

[33:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “word.” In this context, which depicts the Lord as the sovereign creator and ruler of the world, the Lord’s “word” refers to the decrees whereby he governs his dominion.

[33:4]  ⁶ tn Or “upright.”

[33:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “and all his work [is] in faithfulness.”

[55:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “shakes, trembles.”

[55:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “the terrors of death have fallen on me.”

[55:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “fear and trembling enter into me.”

[55:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “covers.” The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive carries on the descriptive (present progressive) force of the preceding imperfect.

[103:6]  ¹² tn Heb “the Lord does fairness, and [acts of] justice for all the oppressed.”

[104:23]  ¹³ tn Heb “man goes out to his work, and to his labor until evening.”

[109:23]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “like a shadow when it is extended I go.” He is like a late afternoon shadow made by the descending sun that will soon be swallowed up by complete darkness. See Ps 102:11.

[111:8]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “done in faithfulness and uprightness.” The passive participle probably has the force of a gerund. See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 89.

[119:1]  ¹⁶ sn Psalm 119. The psalmist celebrates God’s law and the guidance it provides his people. He expresses his desire to know God’s law thoroughly so that he might experience the blessings that come to those who obey it. This lengthy psalm exhibits an elaborate acrostic pattern. The psalm is divided into twenty-two sections (corresponding to the letters of the Hebrew alphabet), each of which is comprised of eight verses. Each of the verses in the first section (vv. 1-8) begins with the letter alef (א), the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This pattern continues throughout the psalm as each new section highlights a successive letter of the alphabet. Each verse in section two (vv. 9-16) begins with the second letter of the alphabet, each verse in section three (vv. 17-24) with the third letter, etc. This rigid pattern creates a sense of order and completeness and may have facilitated memorization.

[119:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness of those who are blameless of way.”

[119:1]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “walk in.”

[119:4]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “you, you commanded your precepts, to keep, very much.”

[119:22]  ²⁰ tn Heb “roll away from upon me.” Some derive the imperatival form גַּל (gal) from גָּלָה (galah, “uncover,” as in v. 18), but here the form is from גָּלַל (galal, “roll”; see Josh 5:9, where חֶרְפָּה [kherpah, “shame; reproach”] also appears as object of the verb). Some, following the lead of a Dead Sea scroll (11QPs^a), emend the form to גֹּל (gol).

[119:143]  ²¹ tn Heb “find.”

[120:3]  ²² tn Heb “What will he give to you, and what will he add to you, O tongue of deception?” The psalmist addresses his deceptive enemies. The Lord is the understood subject of the verbs “give” and “add.” The second part of the question echoes a standard curse formula, “thus the Lord/God will do … and thus he will add” (see Ruth 1:17; 1 Sam 3:17; 14:44; 20:13; 25:22; 2 Sam 3:9, 35; 19:13; 1 Kgs 2:23; 2 Kgs 6:31).